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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26658385">Spirit Up</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpringZephyr/pseuds/SpringZephyr'>SpringZephyr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Inazuma Eleven: Ares no Tenbin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Friendships, Gen, Redemption, Unlikely Friendships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:07:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,670</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26658385</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpringZephyr/pseuds/SpringZephyr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Norika receives an unexpected dinner guest, who asks for an equally unexpected favor.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Umihara Norika &amp; Shimerigawa Kageru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Spirit Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Recently, I thought about getting in the habit of writing more chapter fics. This is one of the test ideas I came up with, but I've already decided I won't continue it. Everyone has at least two speaking lines, by the way! I don't like leaving out characters.</p><p>Shimerigawa can learn Toughness Block and Power Shield in SD. Which means this is technically an SD fic, tee-hee.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Norika was already halfway to the door when she called over her shoulder, "Does anyone remember inviting any dinner guests?"</p><p>Everyone's responses were mostly what she'd expected: an nine person chorus of "no" and "not me", and Hiyori quipping, "Goujin is lucky <em>we</em> eat dinner with him".</p><p>"Hey!"</p><p>"You should chew with your mouth closed."</p><p>Norika sighed, and whoever was buzzing the doorbell became more persistent. Instead of ringing it once, and waiting like a normal person, whoever was at the door right now was just pressing it continuously. However, when she saw <em>who</em> that person was, she couldn't say she was surprised.</p><p>"Norika!" Shimerigawa cried out.</p><p>Without looking behind her, Norika could suddenly feel that there were ten pairs of eyes on them. It was too quiet, for one. The clattering of chopsticks against everyone's plates and glass cups against the table had abruptly disappeared. But also, she knew her teammates and she knew that every single one of them, including Kozoumaru, despite how much he pretended to be ineffectual, was as confused as she was right now.</p><p>"Y-yes, that's me... but – "</p><p>"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Shimerigawa cut her off, attempting to push past her and into the kitchen in a way that indicated he didn't care if he was interrupting at all.</p><p>Norika refused to let him pass.</p><p>"Oh. Do you perhaps not remember me?"</p><p>In the background, she heard Mansaku grumbling. It sounded something like, "who could forget that royal pain in the butt".</p><p>Which was true. Norika and the rest of her team knew all about how Shimerigawa had forced his way into the captain's position, when initially he hadn't been on the starting roster. They'd watched as he'd fumbled with and then ran away from soccer balls, as he'd done the exact opposite of what a goalkeeper was supposed to do. And he'd been such a brat about it, who could possibly forget him?</p><p>Although, to be honest, Norika remembered mostly those things and not his name.</p><p>"Yeah," she replied. "The mushroom haircut guy from Teikoku."</p><p>"Gah..."</p><p>"So what are you doing here at <em>Raimon</em>? Don't tell me you took a wrong turn on the way home?"</p><p>"Of course not. If I'd wanted to go home, I would've had my father's private jet give me a ride." This guy could not be serious. "Today, I'm here on Kidou's recommendation. I'm here to ask you for hel... Helll.."</p><p>"Help?" Norika suggested.</p><p>Shimerigawa swallowed, as though he'd just tasted something bitter. "Yes, that. It's recently come to my attention that my skills as a goalkeeper are not as refined as they could be."</p><p>They weren't refined at all, but Norika politely decided not to say that.</p><p>"It's great that you want to improve and all, but why me? You already have a great goalkeeper on your team – couldn't you have asked Genda instead?"</p><p>If Shimerigawa had said something like, he was too embarrassed to ask Genda or worried that Teikoku wouldn't accept him back on the team, Norika would have assured him it was fine and they would understand if he showed them how much he loved soccer. Then she would have gone back to eating dinner, pork cutlets and fried cabbage with juice. But Shimerigawa did not say either of those things.</p><p>"I – I already did," he confessed. "He refused."</p><p>Well, that shouldn't have been much of a surprise. Just being on the same team as Shimerigawa wouldn't be enough to make Genda feel obligated to help him. Not anymore.</p><p>Norika sighed. "I guess, if you're serious..."</p><p>"Norika..." Mansaku approached from behind. For some reason, his voice had a hint of warning in it. "A word, please?"</p><p><br/>
"I don't think I trust this guy," Michinari added, saying outright what Mansaku was hinting at. "Group meeting!"</p><p>Shimerigawa made a noise of protest as Michinari jumped out of his seat, dashed over to where Norika and Mansaku were standing, and shut the door in his face. Norika almost protested herself – not because she liked Shimerigawa any more than the others did, but it seemed kind of rude when so far he'd only asked for her assistance. But the scowl on Michinari's face was a little deeper than usual.</p><p>He sighed. "I don't like this idea."</p><p>"Didn't he seem... <em>calmer</em> than before, though? Maybe he's serious."</p><p>"You're actually – " Mansaku cut himself off, tugging down the brim of his hat in a silent protest. "I can't believe you're actually considering it..."</p><p>"If you absolutely have to help this brat," said Michinari, "Take Goujin with you. Heck, take Iwato. He only looks scary, but Shimerigawa doesn't need to know that."</p><p>She considered this for a second, and then, in a hushed voice, Kirina asked, "You don't think he'd try to threaten Norika?"</p><p>"The guy threatened his own teammates," Goujin pointed out.</p><p>"With expulsion," Okiura reminded him. "But Norika doesn't go to Teikoku."</p><p>Hattori piped up, "I can go with! He'd never expect a ninja!"</p><p>She knew they meant well, but frankly, she was relieved when Asuto jumped to her defense. "Guys, Norika can take care of herself!"</p><p>Whenever Asuto said <em>anything</em>, it sounded encouraging.</p><p>She knew their intentions were good, but it was a little perturbing that they didn't believe she could handle a string bean with a bad haircut. And if they didn't trust her ability to deal with a low level player from another team, what did they think about her abilities on the field? She could run, lift weights, and drag a tired around Raimon's athletics field as well as anyone else on the team.</p><p>Asuto, thankfully, never really got angry or anxious over anything. He was her source of confidence in a lot of things, just from his sunny disposition alone. Whenever Asuto was around, people felt more at ease.</p><p>At least, that was the way he made Norika feel. She supposed she couldn't speak for everyone else.</p><p>"Ah, right..." Mansaku readjusted his baseball cap.</p><p>"We should put it to a vote," Kirina suggested. Everyone turned to look at him – except for Kozoumaru, who was still pretending to be more interested in dinner. "We don't know if Shimerigawa is serious or not. Maybe he can't be trusted. But we still have our own practice, not to mention homework and the rest of the Football Frontier to worry about. If Norika is uncertain about whether she wants to help him or not, maybe we should discuss it now and then cast a vote."</p><p>"If she's uncertain now, wouldn't it be better to say no?" Okiura asked.</p><p>"Right..." Kirina grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil off the nearby counter. "I'll mark Okiura's vote as a 'no'. The final decision will be Norika's, of course, regardless of what the rest of us think."</p><p>Okiura groaned over being dismissed so easily. To be honest, Norika was sometimes caught a little off guard when Kirina went into Business Mode also.</p><p>"I guess that could work,"she muttered.</p><p>"Anyone else?"</p><p>"If he really loves soccer, I think she should help," Asuto replied. Predictably, since Norika had already assumed that was what he would vote for.</p><p>"On the contrary," Kozoumaru retorted, "if he really loved soccer, he would find a way to practice on his own."</p><p>Kozoumaru set down his chopsticks and gave up any pretense of not paying attention, although it was still possible that he also just wanted them to stop talking. Norika liked to believe he was a caring person on the inside, however.</p><p>"He probably doesn't get along with his team after the stunt he pulled at Football Frontier," Hiyori noted. "Maybe we could invite him to our weekend practice?"</p><p>"So he can get in our way?"</p><p>"Okay," Kirina muttered, scribbling more names and tally marks onto his paper. "Kozoumaru is a 'no'... I'm going to assume Hiyori is a maybe?"</p><p>"I guess it can't hurt," Hiyori shrugged.</p><p>"His dad has connections, right?" Hattori added. "Maybe we can get some info from him."</p><p>Iwato shuddered, muttering about how he might use those same connections to get them all expelled instead. "Shimerigawa is too unpredictable," he said.</p><p>"But he wouldn't have come all the way here if he didn't love soccer!" Asuto protested.</p><p>"Which brings up a good question..." Goujin joined Norika, Mansaku, and Michinari in standing, placing his hands on the table and looking around the room suspiciously. "How did he get our dorm's address?"</p><p>Iwato gulped so loudly Norika could hear it from across the room. "He's using his connections against us already!"</p><p>"I think – "</p><p>Whoever had been about to speak didn't get a chance, as the doorbell began ringing again, more frantically than the first time. It paused for a brief second, and Asuto began to speak again, "I think", only for the ringing to resume the next moment. Twenty seconds, thirty seconds passed. After nearly two full minutes of trying to speak over the doorbell, Norika could see the veins threatening to pop out of Michinari's forehead as he growled, "This is impossible!"</p><p>Norika opened the door again. The instant Shimerigawa's finger left the doorbell, he was digging out his wallet, pulling out clumps of money without even looking. "Please, I'm begging you! Is this enough? Do you need more? I-I can call my father...!"</p><p>That was a 1,000 yen bill, a 500, another crumpled 500 threatening to fall out of his hand...</p><p>"See?" Asuto said, from his spot at the table. "He really does love soccer!"</p><p>Norika couldn't disagree.</p><p>And Shimerigawa just looked so... sad, waving wads of money in her face like that. Sad in the pathetic way of being sad.</p><p>"Put that away," she told him, quietly noting the look of surprise on his face when she did. She refused to let herself react to that - it wasn't as if she had proof, yet, that Shimerigawa was actually a good person, after all. "I've already decided that I'm going to help you, and I don't need your money to do that. But you better listen to everything I say."</p><p>
  
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Norika really does not take the money and offers to help him for free. Kozoumaru and a couple of the others are like, wtf, why did you do that? She shows him how to read hissatsu manuals, and Shimerigawa learns Power Shield from Genda later, after Norika tells him to apologize to his team properly. That was the plot of the full original story.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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